The UAE plans to invest €40bn ($46.39bn) in Germany as both countries launched a strategic dialogue covering trade, defence, energy and technology.
The commitment was announced during the state visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Germany from 9 to 11 September 2026, his first as head of state, when he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
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During the visit, the two leaders signed a joint declaration of intent to create the German-UAE Investment Council, aimed at advancing investment and increasing engagement between the public and private sectors.
The €40bn package includes investment in advanced digital infrastructure, including new data centres with a combined capacity of approximately 1GW.
Germany said it would work to create a favourable environment for the plans to be implemented.
Beyond the headline figure, companies from both countries entered into 29 separate business-to-business memoranda of understanding and agreements, collectively valued at over €9.35bn.
The two governments also identified further planned corporate investments and partnerships involving Covestro, RWE, ADNOC and Masdar, building on UAE energy group XRG’s existing approximately €15bn investment in Covestro.
According to the joint declaration, bilateral non-oil trade between the two countries reached $15.5bn in 2025, more than 14% higher than in 2024, while cumulative investment flows between 2021 and 2025 exceeded $10bn.
The UAE and Germany also said they support progress towards a comprehensive UAE-EU Free Trade Agreement, which is under negotiation.
Alongside the economic measures, the two sides signed a letter of intent on defence cooperation and a separate letter of intent on police and security cooperation, as well as a joint declaration of Intent on data hosting through the establishment of “Data Embassies”.
Additional agreements addressed legal assistance in criminal matters and easier airport entry for UAE citizens through Germany’s EasyPASS system, while a double taxation treaty remains under negotiation.
“Both leaders agreed to strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties, including through collaboration in culture, literature, heritage and creative industries. The shared respect for the cultural, historic, and academic achievements of the respective countries was underlined by the signing of a comprehensive MoU on enhancing cultural cooperation”, the joint declaration read.
